The artillery battalion of the Pinglu Guards was equipped with a variety of artillery ranging from 12-pound Hongyi cannons to 6-pound Franco machine guns, as well as tiger crouching cannons.
It can inflict heavy damage on the enemy from a distance of 200-1500 meters.
At this time, Zhenghuang Banner's cavalry was very close to the Ming army's artillery position, and everyone could already feel the vibration caused by the galloping horses' hooves.
After the enemy entered 200 steps, it was the Tiger Crouching Cannon's turn to appear.
Soon the countless lead bullets fired by the Crouching Tiger Cannon once again caused great damage to the enemy.
As the explosion sounded, the yellow flag cavalry rushing in the front row fell off their horses and fell to the ground.
Even if the Eight Banners soldiers wearing triple heavy armor were not directly killed by these lead bullets due to the protection of their armor, the war horses under their crotches could not withstand the attack of the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
As the cavalry in the front row fell off their horses, the momentum of the yellow flag charge was also curbed.
If replaced by ordinary troops, one charge would have resulted in 30 to 40% casualties, and they would have turned around and retreated immediately.
But because they were outside the city, these charging yellow flags had no way out.
Even if you choose to retreat, it will be difficult to pass through the narrow city gate quickly, and you will eventually become a target for the Ming army's artillery!
Facing the siege of the Ming army, they had no way to retreat. Only by rushing to the Ming army's artillery position at all costs could they have a glimmer of hope!
Now they are less than 200 steps away from the Ming army. For the cavalry, this distance can be said to be close in an instant.
Li Xianzhong, who was watching the battle from behind, said: "The cavalry is ordered to attack and crush the Tatars in front of the formation."
As a drum sounded, the three thousand Liaodong cavalry on standby on both sides of the position began to urge their horses to advance towards the enemy.
At the same time, the gunmen on the front position had also started shooting.
"Bang, bang, bang"
The Ming army's gunmen were divided into three groups and gave the attacking enemy cavalry a round of "three-stage attack."
The effective range of the Lumi gun was 120 steps, causing the cavalry of Zhenghuang Banner to suffer considerable losses before entering the Ming army's position.
Although many Eight Banners soldiers were not killed on the spot because they were wearing heavy armor, if their horses fell off at this time, they would definitely be trampled by their companions' horses behind them. In fact, it was the same as death in battle.
Zhenghuang Banner was worthy of being the main force of Jianzhou. Faced with such powerful firepower from the Ming army, they actually refused to retreat and continued to charge despite suffering more than half of their casualties.
Although they did not personally go into battle to kill the enemy, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng and others were extremely nervous at this moment.
They didn't expect the Tatar cavalry to be so fierce. No wonder the 50,000 Ming army led by Du Song and Marin were defeated in just one day in the Battle of Sarhu!
At this time, the Eight Banners of Zhenghuang Banner seemed extremely excited, because at this time they were less than 50 steps away from the Ming army.
The cavalry in the front row raised their spears and prepared to attack the Ming army's infantry formation, while the cavalry in the back row began to bend their bows and shoot arrows at the Ming army.
At this time, the large shield soldiers of the Ming army in the front row raised their shields one after another, blocking most of the Jianlu's bows and arrows, and a small number of bows and arrows shot at the Ming army in the rear.
For the Ming army wearing heavy cloth armor, these bows and arrows were not fatal, and only a small number of Ming soldiers were injured by bows and arrows.
It didn't even have any impact on the Ming army's formation.
At this time, the spearmen of the Ming army held their spears tightly, ready to welcome the impact of the Jianzhou cavalry at any time.
At this time, Huang Taiji on the city was also nervously watching the Zhenghuang Banner fighting below the city. After paying a huge price, they finally had a chance to attack the Ming army's position.
However, with a loud noise, the ground soon collapsed, and Zhenghuang Qi, who was charging, fell into the horse trap arranged by the Ming army, including men and horses.
The sharpened wooden stakes in the pit pierced the horses and knights directly.
The battlefield is filled with the neighing of war horses!
The Ming army's horse traps were only arranged directly in front of the artillery position, and were not arranged on both sides. This could also ensure that there was a channel for attacking the city.
"Bang, bang, bang"
At this time, the Ming army gunners who had loaded their ammunition quickly started the second round of shooting, directly taking away the Eight Banners soldiers who were struggling in front of the horse pit.
However, the Tiger Crouching Cannon stopped firing because the assaulting Ming Army cavalry had already attacked Zhenghuang Banner from both sides.
After experiencing shelling, gunfire, and horse traps, this cavalry team, which originally consisted of two thousand people, now has less than eight hundred people left.
At this time, what they need to face is the Ming Army's most elite heavy cavalry, the "Liaodong Iron Cavalry."
Soon the Liaodong cavalry wearing armor began to outflank Zhenghuang Banner from both wings. Zhenghuang Banner had been constantly blocked by Ming army firepower and had long lost the advantage of cavalry attack.
At this moment, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, which was constantly increasing its speed, was like two sharp daggers, inserted directly into the Jianlu formation.
Once the two sides fought, it was obvious that Zhenghuang Banner was at a disadvantage. The Ming army's spears continuously pierced Jianlu's chest with their impact, but not many Ming soldiers fell.
Lu Xiangsheng shouted excitedly: "The Liaodong cavalry under Ning Yuanbo are indeed the strongest heavy cavalry in the Ming Dynasty. Even if they face the most powerful Zhenghuang Banner of the Tatars, they still have a huge advantage. These Tatars will not last long!"
Sun Chuanting's heart was full of doubts at this time. He said: "Although these Tatar cavalry are powerful, they are already at the end of their strength. At this time, two thousand cavalry can easily defeat them. I don't know why Uncle Ning Yuan sent out the final force." Shouldn't the elite 'Liaodong Iron Cavalry' and ace troops be reserved for the most critical moments before being used?"
After hearing this, Li Xianzhong couldn't help but cast a look of approval at Sun Chuanting.
In fact, not only Sun Chuanting, but many Ming army generals also had this doubt, but they did not dare to openly question their coach's decision.
Li Xianzhong said: "If I don't send my main force, how can I lure more Tatar cavalry?"
"Although these two thousand people are the main force of the Tatars, I can be sure that they are here to lure the enemy. If the 'Liaodong Iron Cavalry' does not cooperate, I am afraid that Huang Taiji in the city may not dare to make up his mind to send the cavalry out of the city. decisive battle."
If the Ming army had not used explosive bombs, perhaps Huang Taiji would have planned to rely on the fortified city to defend it.
As the explosive bombs were put into the battlefield, Huang Taiji naturally understood that the city of Hetuala could not be defended at all, and it was only a matter of time before the city was destroyed.
Facing the Ming army's Lumi guns and tiger squatting artillery, the main cavalry in Huang Taiji's hands simply could not exert its advantage in street fighting.
Instead of waiting for death slowly in the city, it is better to go out and give it a try, and maybe a miracle will happen.
Frankly speaking, if Li Xianzhong and Huang Taiji exchanged positions, he would have chosen to go out of the city to fight, and no matter what happened, he would have been able to kill more Ming troops.
Sure enough, not long after, the main cavalry who came to report the Tatars came out from the north of the city and were heading towards here, with a total of five thousand people.
Soon, Li San, the commander-in-chief of Kaiyuan, led a five thousand "assault battalion" north to fight the Tatars.
Although this move is a bit risky, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry should be able to wipe out the remnants of the Tatars in the West City soon.
It will not result in empty troops.
After seeing Li Xianzhong's assault battalion heading north, Huang Taiji showed a proud smile.
Although many of the two thousand Zhenghuang Banners he sent in Xicheng were elite main forces, the Ming army would definitely still hold on to them.
After all, there were also a lot of cavalry in the Ming army attacking the city this time.
However, he believed that the five thousand cavalry led by Anfei Yanggu would be able to completely attract the remaining cavalry of the Ming army.
Even though Li Xianzhong was as cunning as a ghost, he would not have thought that both the two thousand men leaving the west city and the five thousand cavalry in the north were just his own tactics.
His real target was the Ming army's camp outside Xicheng.
The Ming army's explosive bombs indeed changed Huang Taiji's original intention. Originally, he expected to use the strong walls of Hetuala to desperately resist the Ming army.
But reality told Huang Taiji that this was just his wishful thinking.
Now only by burning the food, grass and baggage in the Ming army's camp can it be possible to force the Ming army to retreat.
At this time, Huang Taiji had no choice but to make a desperate move.
At this time, Jia La'e Zhensuna of Zhengbai Banner was leading three thousand cavalry of Zhengbai Banner from the south city to the Ming army camp in the west of the city.
Hetuala is a mountain city with a circumference of only more than 5,000 meters, so the distance between the city gates is not too far.
After Suna left the city, he immediately led his army along the Yangbi Mountain to the Ming army camp in the west of the city.
At this time, the main force of the Ming army's cavalry was either entangled with Anfei Yanggu's Zhenghuang Banner in the north, or clearing out the remaining enemies in the west city.
The sudden appearance of the white flag was indeed beyond Li Xianzhong's expectation.
He thought that Huang Taiji would use the main force of cavalry to attack, but he did not expect that the Tatars would dispatch tens of thousands of cavalry.
You must know that Hetuala only has 15,000 defenders in total.
And he had already built a bastion south of Hetuala, so there was absolutely no possibility of Huang Taiji breaking out south to join forces with Azig.
Even though there was no hope of breaking through, he still dared to send tens of thousands of cavalry out of the city.
It seems that this opponent is really unusual, and he is also a person who does not play his cards according to common sense.
Zhao Ledjiao said: "Those positive yellow flags in front of the artillery positions have been almost wiped out. It is better to quickly order the Liaodong Iron Cavalry to return to the main camp to support the camp. Although it may be later than the enemy, it will definitely prevent the enemy from further raiding the artillery positions."
The city of Hetuala is built on a highland, bordering Suzi River to the north and Sheepbis Mountain to the south.
In fact, both the north and south gates are not conducive to the deployment of the army, so only the west of the city is suitable for siege.
How could he not be prepared for the attacks from the north and the south when he concentrated his main force to attack Xicheng?
Li Xianzhong shook his head and said: "Let the Pinglu Guards stay on guard! Don't worry, these Tatars can't escape."
At this time, everyone looked at Li Xianzhong in surprise. The main forces of the Ming army were already here. There were only more than a thousand soldiers in the camp. How could they stop the 3,000 Tatar cavalry?
Suna's three thousand white flags were marching all the way along Sheep Nose Mountain towards the Ming army camp.
Unexpectedly, a large number of arrows suddenly hit him.
Although he was wearing heavy armor, the sudden rain of arrows still caused a certain amount of chaos for Zhengbai Qi.
Three thousand cavalry led by Samutai suddenly burst out of the woods near the mountain road.
Looking at these "Eight Banners Soldiers" wearing blue armor, Suna and others seemed to have been struck by lightning.
Wasn't Zhenglan Banner completely wiped out long ago?
Only then did he realize that these people were probably the "Imperial Association Army" recruited by Li Xianzhong!
Previously, the Ming spies in Hetuala had publicized the "Imperial Association Army". Anyone who was not a Jurchen of Jianzhou could avoid death as long as they surrendered to the Ming Dynasty!
What a coincidence, Su Na is not a Jianzhou Jurchen, he was originally from the Ye He tribe.
When he discovered the rise of Nurhachi in Jianzhou, he voluntarily abandoned his father and brothers in Yehe and led a small number of his tribe to defect to Jianzhou.
At that time, the Haixi Jurchen tribes had not yet surrendered. In order to commend Suna for surrendering, Nurhachi directly married his daughter to Suna. So now Suna still has the status of a consort and can be regarded as an old man of Zhengbai Banner. .
Although he has barely managed to get into the upper echelons of Jianzhou now, according to Li Xianzhong's calculations, Suna is not from Jianzhou's own clan at all, and he can avoid death if he surrenders.
The most important thing is that anyone with a discerning eye can see that Hetuala is an isolated city now, and they can't break out at all.
Just as Suna was blinking, Samutai's Zhenglan flag had already rushed into their formation.
Half of the main force of Zhengbai Banner had died while attacking Gule Village.
At this time, of the three thousand cavalry he led, half were from the Han army Niulu, and the remaining half from Jianzhou Niulu also had many Jurchens of Korean descent, so their combat power was severely reduced.
Coupled with the surprise attack, it was obvious that they were at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Zheng Lanqi.
At this time, Samutai shouted: "Suna, you are from the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens. I'm afraid you don't have many serious Jianzhou Jurchens under your command, so why don't you join the 'Imperial Alliance Army' together?"
"The main force of the two thousand Zhenghuang Banners outside the west gate has been annihilated by the Ming army. The Liaodong cavalry will arrive soon, and you will have no chance by then!"
When he heard the words "Liaodong Iron Cavalry", Suna shivered unconsciously. These murderers never left anyone alive.
He soon made the decision to surrender, after working with Zhenglan Banner to eliminate a small number of recalcitrant Jurchens in Jianzhou.
Suna and his son Suksaha led more than 2,000 Zhengbai banners to join the Imperial Alliance Army.
After Suna defected, in order to claim credit, he took the initiative to attack the 5,000 Zhenghuang Banner and the Zhengba Banner led by Anfeyangu together with the Zhenglan Banner.
Anfeiyanggu, who could barely hold a stalemate with the Ming army, was besieged by more than 5,000 "Imperial Association Army" and 3,000 Liaodong cavalry.
Facing the siege of 13,000 Ming Army cavalry, they were quickly divided into several pieces.
Li Sanshun saw the opportunity and stabbed Anfeiyanggu to death.
Soon after, with Suna's personal explanation, more than a thousand remaining Zhenghuangqi laid down their weapons.
This scene made Sun Chuanting and others stunned. The ferocious Jianzhou Tatars actually surrendered more than 3,000 people at once.
Li Xianzhong said: "There are not many bannermen in Jianzhou Jurchen originally. Many of them were brought into Jianzhou Jurchen by Nurhaci from Haixi Jurchen and savage Jurchen."
"With a large number of bannermen killed in the battle, they have even used the Han army and the Koreans to make up the numbers! Now that Jianzhou is gone, it is normal for those people to betray Jianzhou!"
Sun Chuanting also said sincerely at this time: "Ning Yuanbo's 'Imperial Alliance Army' is actually a method of attacking the heart. It can indeed divide and disintegrate the Tatars faster, making them wary of each other internally and making people panic!"
Soon the surrendered general Suna was named a general of the Imperial Association Army by Li Xianzhong, allowing him to command the two white flags that surrendered.
Li Xianzhong also made an exception and transferred his son Suk Saha to his personal guard camp.
Suna understood that Li Xianzhong was holding his son hostage. He had already rebelled twice, so it was normal for others to be wary.
Soon he told Li Xianzhong the truth about Hetuala.
Huang Taiji lost 10,000 of his main troops in this attack.
At present, there are less than 5,000 combat soldiers and 3,000 auxiliary soldiers in the city.
After this battle, the Emperor's Alliance Army also doubled in size, now numbering more than 6,000 people.
After witnessing this scene happening under the city, Huang Taiji almost fainted.
He believed that if it had not been dark, the Ming army might have directly attacked the city on the spot.
He also understood that this was his last night in Hetuala.
The Ming army will attack the city as soon as it breaks tomorrow.
Now there is no morale in the city and there is no way to hold on.
At this time, he began to regret it. If he had evacuated to North Korea with Daishan, it might have been a different situation.
Is it better to lose your position than to lose your life?
It would be great if Mr. Fan Wencai and Mr. Fan were still around. With his resourcefulness, he would definitely be able to think of a solution.
Now at this point, the only thing left is a bloody fight to the end.
At this time, the Han troops in the city were already in panic, and they were not willing to bury Huang Taiji with him.
However, they were relieved after hearing that Huang Taiji had transferred all more than 2,000 Jianzhou Jurchens to the inner city!
Obviously Huang Taiji was wary of them, but that was fine, they could surrender directly to the Ming army.
So as not to risk fighting with these Tatars.
In order to appease people's hearts, Huang Taiji took out all the dried fish and bacon stored in the city to reward the three armies!
After all, this was probably the last meal in the city, and there was no need for Huang Taiji to be stingy with these supplies.
Soon the Han army was feasting, and some even got kumiss!
But soon they discovered something was wrong. Some Han soldiers began to foam at the mouth and twitch, and some began to have diarrhea.
Many people began to realize that the Tatars were going to attack them. They probably put poisons and laxatives in these foods.
Soon the Tatars armed with butcher knives rushed into the Han army's camp and killed everyone they saw.
At this time, the Han army was either poisoned, convulsed, or had diarrhea and diarrhea. There was not much resistance at all!
They had no choice but to set fire to the city, hoping to take advantage of the chaos to escape.
The fires in the city will soon light up the night sky!
The Ming army in charge of patrol soon told Li Xianzhong the news.
Li Xianzhong said: "With Huang Taiji's ruthless character, when he saw the Tatars surrendering outside the city today, he would definitely take action first to eliminate possible hidden dangers in the city."
"Inform the soldiers on watch to strengthen patrols and let them go dog-eat-dog. Uncle Ben will not let the Ming army soldiers take risks to attack the city late at night."
The fighting lasted for more than an hour, and in the end nearly 6,000 Han troops and non-Jianzhou Jurchen war auxiliaries in the city were all massacred.
Huang Taiji said with a smile: "These despicable slaves actually want to betray their master. Allowing you to eat well and go on the road is already the greatest favor Benbeile has given you!"
In the early morning of the next day, the Ming army occupied the outer city of Hetuala without any bloodshed.
Soon Li Xianzhong ordered the Imperial Association Army to enter the city to clean up the corpses of these people.
Although these people died in miserable circumstances, Li Xianzhong had no sympathy for them. From the day they abandoned their ancestors and became lackeys of the Jianzhou Jurchens, this ending was destined.
At this time, the Imperial Army soldiers who were carrying the corpses were also frightened. Fortunately, they had surrendered in advance, otherwise I would be the one lying on the ground now.
In view of the atrocities committed by the Tatars last night, Li Xianzhong ordered not to accept the surrender of these beasts, and that all the Tatars in the city would not be left alive and the entire city of Hetuala would be slaughtered.
Soon the Ming army moved artillery to the outer city of Hetuala.
The city of Hetuala is not big, and the inner city is completely covered by the firepower of the Ming army.
You don't even need the Hongyi cannon, the Folang machine cannon can directly bombard the inner city!
Since the overall terrain of Hetuala is higher in the south and lower in the north, more of the Ming army's artillery was concentrated on the southern city.
As the Ming army artilleryman dropped the torch in his hand.
Soon, rounds of artillery shells were fired at the inner city of Hetuala.
With a huge roar, the rubble on the city was blown away, and smoke instantly enveloped the entire city wall.
The Tatars on the city were constantly overturned by the air waves generated by the falling shells, and many of them were even knocked down directly from the city.
After a while, the city was full of broken limbs and arms, which was very miserable.
Soon after, Samutai and Suna each led three thousand "Imperial Alliance Army" to attack the inner city of Hetuala from different directions.
Through the telescope, Li Xianzhong clearly saw that these Tatars used the ruins as cover to continuously attack the Imperial Army entering the inner city.
Li Xianzhong offered a bounty of one thousand taels of silver to Huang Taiji's head, so all the emperor's associate troops marched forward bravely towards the palace in the inner city.
It is said that it is a palace, but it is just a wall piled with stones on the basis of a wooden fence, and there is not much protection.
But after all, this was their last line of defense, so the Eight Banners soldiers still fought hard to protect Huang Taiji's safety.
Sun Chuanting said: "In fact, the inner city can be bombarded with more artillery, which can reduce the casualties of the siege troops!"
Li Xianzhong said: "Isn't General Sun still aware of the price of these explosive shells?"
"The production of blooming bullets is much more time-consuming and labor-intensive than solid bullets. Don't look at the loud explosions of these cannons, but they are all money!"
"The military strategy of the imperial court cannot produce explosive bombs at all. These are all made by the uncle himself with his own money."
"Our army now relies heavily on these firearms, so it spends several months stocking up on ammunition before each war!"
Sun Chuanting thought the same thing. It was these Imperial Alliance troops who died anyway. Although he didn’t say it, Ning Yuanbo must have wanted to control the number of Imperial Alliance troops in this way. Those left behind in the end should be the elites of Baizhan. !
On June 28, the second year of Tianqi, the Ming army captured Hetuala, the capital of Jianzhou.
Ning Yuanbo Li Xianzhong slaughtered Huang Taiji and more than 2,000 people who were stubbornly resisting in the inner city!
Afterwards, the Ming army dug up Nurhachi's ashes from Yangbi Mountain in the south of the city, and sent them to the capital together with Huang Taiji's head to report their victory!
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(End of chapter)
